atlas ↠ b.blake

6 ↠ captivity

     But, Lane's untrusting instinct to survive won. She just couldn't let someone else protect her. She only knew how to protect herself.

     "I'm sorry, Bellamy." 

     His eyes met hers at the sound of his first name. She liked saying it. Lane could say it a thousand more times, but her feelings for Bellamy, whatever they were, scared Lane. She couldn't let herself get relaxed. She learned that letting your guard down always led to betrayal or death.

     "It's fine. There's not much we can do about it now, is there?" The vulnerable and sad look in his eyes struck Lane. Her heart tugged, wanting to take over, but Lane blocked everything out except her plan. 

     Lane stood up, Bellamy's brown eyes staying locked with her stormy grey gaze, "Yes there is. You can stop blaming yourself." 

     "I wish it were that easy."

     "It's not your fault," Lane kept her tone soft. She could see Bellamy letting his guard down with reluctance yelling in the back of her mind. You have to do this. She thought to herself. "I know what it's like to live with pain and guilt, but you have to find a way to move past it." She should take some of her own advice. 

     Bellamy pulled himself off her bed. He stood right in front of her; close enough for Lane to touch if she wanted to, "Does it ever go away?" 

     Lane thought back to her first real conversation with Bellamy at the lake, "No," she answered. "It just gets easier." At least, she hoped it did.

     A small smile tugged at Bellamy's lips; a smile that Lane returned genuinely. It made her next action feel even more terrible to her. She used her free hand to pull out the EpiPen and stick it right in Bellamy's neck. 

     Hurt and betrayal took over his smile as he fell to the floor. His eyes fell shut moments later as Lane leaned over him to search for the key to the handcuffs. She stopped for a split second, looking at Bellamy's face. Something tugged at her heart, but she shook her head when her hand finally found the key. 

     Lane unlocked her handcuffs, keeping her eyes away from Bellamy as she left the room. She knew that if she looked back, she would never leave Arkadia. 

↠ ↠ ↠

     Most of the guards were nowhere to be found throughout the hallways. Lane kept her head down as people walked past her. She listened to every conversation she could to get information about the situation outside. Apparently, the army hadn't reached Arkadia, and the scouting team was already back with a report that no grounders were spotted anywhere near Arkadia. It all appeared suspicious. The grounders that warned them acted like the camp would be overrun in merely a few hours.

     As Lane walked on the edges of the main hall, she spotted Jasper stumbling around near the bar. If anyone knew a secret way out of Arkadia, it would be him. He was always disappearing for hours making people think he had passed out in the woods or something. One time, they actually sent a search party out looking for him. He was sleeping in Rover 1 the whole time. 

     Lane kept a sharp eye out for any guards as she walked across the room, "Jasper," she said. His back stayed turned. "Jasper!"

     He jumped, turning around with a wide and very drunk smile on his face, "Oh, Lane. How may I help you today?"

     Lane grimaced from the strong stench of alcohol in his breath, "I need to get out of here without being seen."

     She gave him a weird look as he threw an arm around her shoulders, "Rest assured, friend. I will get you out of this shithole. Where are you going, anyway?"